Tips for Brewing with Third Wave Water

We love our water soaked through deliciously aromatic coffee grounds creating the wonderful warm drink that greets so many of us in the mornings…a cup of coffee, but sometimes things don’t go as planned. You buy the best coffee maker, grinder, coffee, and now Third Wave Water but something still tastes off.

Here are some quick tips to make sure that you have the best experience with Third Wave Water:

(1) Use the correct water baseMake sure that you mix your Third Wave Water mineral packets with 'empty' water only. Empty water is water that does not have any minerals; here are some examples:

Distilled Water

Reverse Osmosis Water (check your filters!)

De-ionized Water

Zero Water.

Sorry, but Brita filters and other carbon filters just do not work since they do not remove minerals from the water. If you mix Third Wave Water minerals with water that has minerals already in it, then the Third Wave Water minerals will not fully mix.

(2) Thoroughly mix Third Wave WaterMake sure that you shake the 1-gallon jug (or 4 liter jug) for a good 5-10 seconds. The added agitation will speed up the natural solubility of the minerals. Make sure to wait until the cloudiness of the minerals fully disappear before adding to your coffee maker or kettle.

(3) Clean your coffee makerThird Wave Water’s mineral profile is typically much lower than your calcium enriched flat water, which has left its stain on the insides of your wonderful coffee brewing equipment. So when your new Third Wave Water profile reaches the inside of your coffee machine it sometimes extracts the dirty, clogged calcium back into the water leaving you with very little difference in taste, so make sure to clean your coffee maker before brewing, or run Third Wave Water a few cycles through your coffee maker and you will be good to go!

(4) Empty your coffee maker’s boilerThe instructions for your coffee maker will explain how to remove the existing water in your coffee maker’s boiler (if applicable…e.g. Keurig, espresso machines, etc). One short cut is to run 2-3 cycles of Third Wave Water through your machine and you should be good to go.

If all else fails…buy a new coffee maker. It is probably time for a new one anyways. We are strong believers in SCA (Specialty Coffee Association) certified brewers because they are able to brew hot enough to effectively extract your delicious morning brew. Most coffee makers do not even heat your water up to 190 degrees F (90 Celcius); the recommended temperature range for brewing coffee is 195-205 degrees F (90-96 Celcius). Here are a few amazing coffee makers to check out: the Bonavita, Technivorm or the Ratio 8.

SOME FINAL THOUGHTS

I thought my water tasted good? Water that tastes good will not necessarily be good to brew your coffee. Many people use Brita filters thinking that if the water taste good it will help their coffee taste better too, but this is sadly is not true because calcium bicarbonate (amongst other minerals) will still buffer the water flattening the flavor of your coffee.

Some people will even claim, we have the best water in the world (or country, or region, etc), therefore our water is amazing for brewing coffee. This is sadly also a misstep many people in the coffee world make, because the lack of chlorides or other contaminates in the water still has nothing to do with how many minerals are in the water. Your city will always have some amount of minerals in your potable water supply and they are not the right minerals for brewing coffee.

I thought pure water was best? Some people will use empty water like distilled water thinking that pure water is best for drinking and will help coffee taste better. This sadly is also not true because coffee oils need something to attach to. So, when you brew coffee with empty water, like distilled, you will consistently flatten your coffee.

You just need the right minerals at the right ratios! Join the growing winners of Brewers Cups around the world and give Third Wave Water a try today! Try the Espresso Profile if you brew with Espresso Machines and the Classic Profile for everything else.

Resolving to lose 25 pounds, learn German, or run a marathon this New Year? Nothing like setting some lofty goals. Kudos to you for dreaming big, but why not choose at least one we can actually help you achieve?